In Turkey, they talk about the possibility of paying in rubles

Nihat Zeybekci explains the need to increase the share of foreign trade in the local currency in order to reduce the risk due to the dependence on the dollar and the euro.

 

The minister believes that the agreement with Moscow will allow travelers from Russia to pay in rubles, and Turkey will conduct transactions in Turkish liras for the same amount. “The official base with Russia is ready,” he said.

 

This issue has been discussed by the authorities of the two countries for a long time. In the winter of 2017, the Turkish side reported that the Russian Sberbank and its Turkish subsidiary Denizbank are developing a system of ruble payment in the tourism and agriculture sector in Turkey. There has since been information about a possible sale of Denizbank to a Dubai-based bank, but no official confirmation has followed.

 

Experts of the tourism industry believe that while there was no information about the agreements signed by the authorities of both countries, this statement of the Minister of Economy of Turkey can only be understood as a declaration of intent. However, it is believed that the implementation of this plan will positively affect demand. Skeptics, however, predict difficulties, and recall the experience of Egypt: when it became possible to pay in rubles, sellers inflated prices in Russian currency. As a result, buying the same product for dollars became cheaper.